playground
by Kitiara-chaa
Summary: She had the powers he had. He had to rely on her to heal, but can he in turn, make her see a world she never imagined was possible?
1. Chapter 1

She thinks her powers bring her nothing but trouble. Her whole life, she's tried to suppress it, ignore it, make it go away. She equates it with trouble and chaos, problems and heartbreak.

He revels in his powers. He sees the fun in winter, the rainbow in the powdery snow, and the memories that can be created despite the bitter cold that came with the snow and blizzards. He knows the best games to play on a snowday, and would be able to put a world champion figure skater to shame.

She had the powers he had. He had to rely on her to heal, but can he in turn, make her see a world she never imagined was possible?

Can the Guardian of Fun, Jack Frost, teach the Ice Queen how to have fun in her biggest of fears?


	2. Chapter 2

Even if she's patched things up with Anna, and now currently reign as queen of Arendelle, Elsa had to admit to herself, she still felt most at home whenever she returned to the snowy North Mountains, where her ice castle still stood. The weather was calmer now, the blizzard that had raged that fateful day no longer in place, but as Elsa entered the glacier 'throne room' she had crafted from pure imagination and exhilaration from finally being able to fully use the powers she had tried to suppress for so long, a small smile lingered on her rosebud lips, made all the more pinker due to her paler then usual complexion.

She loved Arendelle dearly, and her sister even more. But after years of being cooped up alone in her room (Anna got the better end of the deal really, at least she had the whole castle! Elsa only had four walls, and there's only so much room to pace around after a while), dealing with _people_ in general stressed Elsa out.

But it was a requisite to being the Queen of Arendelle, that much of her duties, Elsa knew. So she gritted her teeth and did the necessary, meeting tradesmen and politicians, awkwardly stammering her way through parties and speeches, and when she needed a break from it all, she put the castle in Anna's charge for a couple of hours, and escaped here.

Only a couple of hours. Heaven knows what she and Kristoff might come up with if she was gone for too long. The last time she fell asleep in her beloved little hideaway, she returned to find a rock climbing competition going on between the two engaged couple, and Sven and Olaf both organizing a sled race.

Looks like she missed the memo notifying her that being a twenty four year old Queen wasn't easy.

It's been 3 years since her coronation, since she finally gained full control over her amok powers with her sister's help, since they had met Kristoff, Sven and Olaf.

Since she abandoned her little slice of heaven right here.

As much as it was a kingdom of isolation, the peak of North Mountains would always hold a special place in Elsa's heart, simply because it was the first place in which the Snow Queen had felt completely free and at ease. The first place where she didn't have to fear hurting anyone with her powers, and could truly explore the full extent of her capabilities.

Even till this day, she used her abilities sparingly, still very conscious of the destruction she's capable of causing, the dangers it brought with it. Elsa is very _very_ aware of the dangers in the cold, the deadly capability of blizzards and ice, and didn't get why the children requested her to make it snow every so often. Did they not see what trouble it could bring?

Perhaps the only form of 'fun' Elsa has done so far with her powers, was to provide the ice skating rink every year on the anniversary of her coronation, but other than that, she uses it as sparingly as possible.

Brushing a finger wistfully against the glaciers forming the frost patterned high-backed throne she had constructed, remembering how happy and free she had felt letting her powers flourish for the first time back then. It had felt so addictive, the ability to finally not hold back the power she could feel struggling to escape inside of her. All her life, she's repeated her father's lesson for her like a mantra. _'Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know. Be a good girl you always have to be.'_ It was the one thing she had to hold on to, to remind herself after her parents death, that Elsa didn't realize maybe learning to control her powers was a better choice rather than suppressing it.

Now she did, even if she still couldn't completely shake free of the fear she had always associated with her ability to control ice and snow.

The walls of her ice castle glowed a calm blue, a reflection of her wistful attitude, but when a slam against the window of her balcony made the colors flash a short burst of red and purple in surprise, it returned to blue again as Elsa furrowed her brows, curious now as she cautiously approached the window which had rattled as if something had hit it. The balcony was as she remembered it, large and spacious, facing her beloved Arendelle and… who was this?

Curiosity mounting, the white-haired royal pushed open her door and quickly knelt next to the figure in a blue hoodie and brown pants, a hooked staff lay fallen on the ground as he groaned, shaking his head covered in hair as white as Elsa's own, much to the Snow Queen's surprise.

A low moan of pain from the mysterious window-slammer brought Elsa hurrying over to his prone figure on the ground, adjusting her ice-woven blue dress as she knelt down and lay a cold finger on his shoulder. "Don't move. Are you alright?"

"No. Need… Pitch, burnt…" he trailed off in an incoherent murmur, and only then did Elsa gasp as she noticed a massive singe mark on his hidden side, a side Elsa hadn't been able to see earlier due to being on the other side. "Oh, you're hurt!"

"Burnt… need… cold."

"Cold? What cold?"

"Just… ice."

"Ice? Oh, I- I can do ice!" she quickly placed a palm over the burnt hoodie, a hole in it revealing the angry red welt on his skin. Elsa's palms glowed an ice blue, the cool air she created wafting down to the angry burn. Her heart calmed as the pain seem to ease, at least enough for the injured male to ease his tense position, his eyes fluttering open slightly.

"Who- Where am I?"

"You'e in Arendelle. Well, technically the North Mountain. Who are you? What happened?"

"J-Jack Frost. I was fighting Pitch's minions, lava laphounds… not the best creatures for me to take on alon- ow!"

"Sorry! Sorry, should I continue?" Elsa asked in a panic, when Jack winced in pain the moment she had taken her hands away. She hurriedly replaced her palms where it was before, biting her lip as he seemed to ease again with the resuming of the cold air she transmitted.

"Yes and no. Yes because it's soothing. No because we're going nowhere, I can't have you here just doing this the whole time."

"What can I do then?"

"Let's go in for starters, and then I'll tell you how a Guardian has to heal. Especially one who controls frost and cold."

Blinking in surprise when he revealed he has control over frost and cold, Elsa was so distracted that Jack had to wave his fingers in front of her surprised gaze twice, before she jerked in surprised, and quickly apologized whilst helping him up. "I just-"

"Explanations later. Including why in heck we're in a castle made entirely out of ice. Now let's get to somewhere with a bed while I curse the fact that I didn't think of making myself a castle made out of ice earlier. North would've been so jealous! Bunnymund has his warren, why can't I have…"

Amused at his little tirade and babble as she helped him in, Elsa's lips curled in to a small smile again. One unlike the poised, practiced one she gave at events, nor the wistful one she wore reminiscing of earlier times. This one seemed amused… almost entertained, something Elsa hasn't felt in a long time.


	3. Chapter 3

"So you'll be fine if you remain somewhere cold for an extended period of time?"

"Of course! What do you expect? I am Jack Frost you know, I thrive in cold places." Jack explained with his signature suave wink, and then began to gape as he registered Elsa's blank expression to his name. "Wait. You… don't know who Jack Frost is?"

A shake of a head.

"How are you able to see me if you don't believe in me?"

"Believe? What's there to believe in?" Elsa replied in surprise, blinking as she tried to make sense of what Jack had just said. The two had mirrored expressions of surprise and shock, although both for different reasons. Jack blinked, and then made a flurry of snow appear on his palm. "This! Are you not shocked?"

Elsa blinked, and then rolled her eyes and crossed her arms across her chest before levelling Jack a matter-of-fact look. "Have you _seen_ what you're lying in, and in what building?"

"Oh yeah." He gave a sheepish grin, his eyes falling to the ice block they called a 'bed' in Elsa's former castle. Giving a sheepish grin, the guardian of fun rubbed his head of white hair, and then spoke again. "But seriously though, how did this," he waved a hand to indicate the whole castle "happen? I'm quite sure ice doesn't just freeze in to an architectural amazement."

"If it did, I wouldn't have had to work so hard." Elsa replied with a laugh, returning to sit by the bed and hand Jack a plate of bite-sized snowballs, before launching in to her story. "I made this castle."

"_Made?!_" Jack spluttered halfway through a mouthful, and stared in shock at Elsa's cheeky grin. Almost impishly, the blonde Arendelle ruler made the type of snow flurry Jack had earlier displayed appear on her palm, and laughed when Jack spluttered in surprise again. "Yes, I made the castle. I was born to the King and Queen of Arendelle, elder sister to Anna of Arendelle, and current Queen after my parents died in a storm at sea. I was also born with the power to control ice and snow, frost and blizzards."

"I… didn't know that was possible."

"Well, we do have trolls who look like rocks somewhere on the North Mountain, plus a future brother-in-law who thinks he understands his reindeer. I'm really no longer surprised."

"But this is amazing! I've never met someone who could control ice too! Now we can play together! Bunnymund always says its too cold, and North and the Tooth Fairy are always busy with their duties, although I really don't get North's. Christmas is only once a year! And-"

"Wait, play?" Elsa echoed, having completely stopped her attention span on the rest of whatever Jack had said, when he associated her powers with playtime. Her whole life, she's lived in fear of it, and even now she's only just come to barely accept it… and he says he plays with it?

Jack on the other hand, blinked in surprise at the horrified look that had taken over Elsa's previously pristine (and rather fetching, if he may say so himself) features. "What's the matter? Play, yes. Snow day games are the best types especially!"

"Games? In the snow?"

"… Have you never played with your powers before?"

"Well…" she trailed off, getting up to pace around the cavern of a room. Her ice laced train dragged behind her as she paced whilst talking, her words halting. "I've… Daddy's always told me to conceal, don't feel, don't let them know. It's…. its destructive, whatever I can do with this power. I almost froze Arendelle!"

"Conceal? No, you should never conceal it Elsa, it's a gift!"

"A gift? No, it's always been a curse. I couldn't talk to Anna as a girl because I almost harmed her, and I almost killed her too! No, I should never let my powers run free." Elsa said in a determined tone, and then paused when she noticed Jack was looking at her as if she was crazy. "You don't understand Jack, I just… I've never learned how to control whatever I can do."

"Did no one teach you?"

"No one could. No one else had the same power. I didn't know what to do, and when Daddy and Mother drowned at sea, I …. I don't know."

A part of his heart wanted to reach out and smoothen all the wrinkled lines on her face at her downcast look, but instead, Jack settled for reaching out and pulling at her wrist, offering her his signature cheeky grin the moment Elsa looked up at him. "Don't worry about it. I'll take you out tomorrow and show you how our powers are meant to be used, okay?"

"Would you really?" It was like someone had summoned dawn on Elsa's face, and Jack couldn't help but grin in return to the childlike joy that had taken over the previously afraid and more skittish royalty as she did a quick joyful skip and twirled happily. "Oh! It's almost dusk, and I promised Anna I'd be home for dinner. Would you like to join us?"

"I'd love to, but I think it would be a better idea for me to stay here for the night. I'll be right as rain tomorrow." Jack replied. While he would honestly loved to see the place Elsa of Arendelle called home, moving at any length of time now sounded exhausting to Jack. The bed of ice and being surrounded by ice was helping a great deal and healing the wounds he had sustained in his combat with the lava laphounds, but the full extent of how much energy he had expanded was just beginning to hit him.

Doubtful, reluctant but finally agreeing, Elsa gave one last check to make sure Jack had everything he needed, before leaving the castle and grabbed the horse she had rode to the castle that day, not even realizing she was whistling a tune as she saddled up and began the journey back to the castle.

Because for the first time in forever, Elsa looked forward to tomorrow.


End file.
